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Our world, for better or worse, is becoming increasingly touchless.

And you won’t see that trend any more than at a local restaurant. In order to stay open in many states, dine-in restaurants – of which thousands are small businesses – are forced to adapt to new health and safety guidelines all the time.

Right now, that means implementing a lot less personal, one-on-one interactions. But the less personal doesn’t need to be impersonal and some companies are creating new technology that makes the restaurant dining experience as familiar as it was just at the beginning of this year.

This week, two companies introduced new tools for restaurant owners that help owners stay open and serving customers while observing all proper social distancing and safety standards.

Check out these articles published this week that deal with this subject:

SpeedPro Releases New Touchless Menu Technology for Restaurants and Bars

As lockdown restriction ease up and restaurants and eateries start to open, SpeedPro has released a new signage technology to help maintain social distancing for customers with touchless menus. The new SpeedPro InfoLnkX, allows diners to make orders using their phones instead of handheld menus for safer dining experiences.

Bevi Introduces New Touchless Beverage Dispensing System

A new dispensing feature lets people get flavored water without a touchscreen. The tech startup Bevi is rolling out the new technology on July 13. The new feature stops employees from touching things like refrigerators and shared water coolers. This is important as the economy reopens . It uses a smartphone camera or a scanner app.

Changes like these we all never expected. That’s for sure. But no matter how we feel about restrictions on our business, it’s the customers who grow more accustomed to these “norms”. And many sort of like the changes.

One of those big changes is curbside pickup of orders. Check out this article on a new survey released this week on consumer trends related to COVID-induced business practices:

86% of Consumers Want a Local Business to Continue Pandemic Services Like Curbside Pickup

New research is finding Americans like social distance services like curbside pickup. And they want them to continue even after the pandemic is over. The State of Local Business survey from Podium reports that 84% of respondents have used tech-enables services like contactless payments too. The vast majority (86%) expect they will continue.

For the rest of the week in small business headlines, check out our weekly news roundup below:

Small Business News Headlines – Week of July 3, 2020

Unused Assets Cost American Companies $55 Billion in March and April

If stay-at-home orders amid the Covid-19 crisis have made some of your business assets idle, you’re not alone. According to the latest report from Motus, unused assets cost businesses over $55 billion in March and April 2020.

Thimble Partners with Angie’s List to Provide Short-Term Small Business Insurance

Businesses which are members of Angie’s list will now be able to buy short-term insurance from Thimble. Thimble is the IAC-backed company that uniquely offers business insurance that can be started, paused or cancelled on demand. Just how short is the short term? Insurance can be purchased by the hour, day or month.

67% of Companies Expect Work From Home to Be Permanent or Long-Lasting

About two-thirds of businesses that have adopted remote work policies as a result of COVID-19 plan to keep at least some of those policies in place long-term or permanently, according to a recent study. The pandemic has forced more businesses than ever to rapidly adopt a work from home model.

80% of Small Business Owners Say Pandemic Hurt Business – 55% Feel Positive About Future

The coronavirus has affected most small businesses in one way or another. So if your small business has been suffering due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, you are not alone. According to the latest survey from Tech.co, 80% of small business owners accepted that COVID-19 has hurt their businesses.

Yahoo Small Business Offers Free Website for 1 Year with Get Online Offer

Small businesses looking to connect with customers can now get a website for free. Yahoo Small Business is offering their Get Online offer. The offer lasts for one year. That’s good news for the sizeable number of business owners looking to get a website  for the first time in 2020.  And those looking to make the move to the digital economy as COVID-19 restrictions loosen up.

UPS Launches Logistics Help Portal, Offers Discount to Small Business

As small businesses move towards reopening, United Parcel Service (UPS) has launched a dedicated portal to help them with their shipping needs. The new package by the messenger and delivery service company includes discounts, advice and other resources targeting the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Grant Freeman of Thryv on Success During the Surge

This is an economic downturn like we never have seen in this country in the last 100 years because states mandated the closing of so many commercial enterprises. But this also can mean that it might be the quickest recovery small businesses have ever seen.

SHRM Launches New LegalShield Service for Small Business

SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) has launched a product, LegalShield, for human resources professionals working for small businesses. SHRM is dedicated to creating better work spaces where employees and employers can thrive. The network has more than 300,000 members HR and business executive members in 165 countries.

HelloWoofy Updates Offer Affordable Social Media Management to Small Business

HelloWoofy, a smart social media management platform, just announced a series of new features, including integration with Hootsuite. This means that Hootsuite’s existing 18 million customers can now access HelloWoofy’s intelligent technology on top of the Hootsuite dashboard for $49 a year.

What You Should Know About Self Employment

Nearly 25 million Americans consider themselves self-employed. And as workplace trends toward working at home and alone, the opportunity to become your own boss by starting a business may be more enticing than ever.

The changing times are creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and self-starters. And it’s likely that in a few months, many more Americans may consider themselves self-employed.

Be sure to check out our updated article on everything you need to know now about self-employment, including the types of self-employment and your responsibilities for each.

How Has COVID 19 Altered Your Retirement Plan?

Qualified retirement plans are a key component of financial security for owners and their employees. The SECURE Act in December 2019 and the CARES Act in March 2020 made significant changes in various rules related to retirement plans.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “In the News – New Food Service Tools Help Restaurants Match Latest Consumer Trends” was first published on Small Business Trends